Professional
by Melschee
Summary: Jounin or not, Temari laments her latest assignment as Chuunin Exam liaison to the Hidden Leaf. As she undergoes the journey, she takes a look back in reminiscence as to exactly why this mission was going to be a drag. Somewhat of a prequel to my previous one shot.


Disclaimer- I don't know if people still do this, but just in case: Do not be confused by the fact that I share the same birthday as Kishimoto; I do not own Naruto. I'd give an outlandish example of how I would have changed it if I had, but I prefer to rant in private as opposed to public.

Well, in light of my recent inspiration, I decided to write another one shot for the ShikaTema community. Since I somewhat enjoyed my take on the mind of Shikamaru in my last submission, I decided this time to delve into Temari's this time as a counterpart. With this, I hope the pair of stories will build off of each other. Again, I just kind of wrote this as I went with no real planning involved, so I hope it holds up. Enjoy.

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"Consider it done." she answered with the tone of formality that had become habit when speaking to the esteemed Kazekage before her. Younger brother or not, it was not her place to speak familiarly towards the Fifth Kazekage during work hours. Professionalism was one of Temari's specialties.

"Your mission begins today, so prepare accordingly. You have until the end of the week." Gaara responded in turn. The others surrounding him remained silent as he continued, "Dismissed."

"Yes, sir." Bowing her head, Temari rose from the ground and exited the building. Now she was free to groan about how much of a chore she was assigned. Chuunin Exam representative of the Hidden Sand and liaison to the Hidden Leaf? Really?

_'Wasn't this kind of thing Chuunin work?'_ Temari grumbled inwardly. She could have declined the mission, but Gaara had asked her personally. It was a delicate role that he trusted her with, and the look in his eyes when he looked for her confirmation was proof enough.

It felt somewhat of a waste to send a Jounin, but was she not one of the few ninja most familiar with the current state of the Hidden Leaf that the Hidden Sand had? Well, chore or no chore, it was essentially a vacation from active duty.

_'At the very least, it might be a good opportunity to catch up with the Crybaby.'_ she snickered mentally. Was she surprised that the thought of the Hidden Leaf immediately brought forth the image of a pineapple headed wuss? Somewhat. It certainly wasn't fully expected.

_'Well, unfortunately he's the one I'm most familiar with...'_

A groan actually escaped Temari at the thought. Really? Was she so pathetic that _Nara Shikamaru_ of all people was the one she was closest with? That was a huge buzz kill. A new plan formed in her head. Avoid the runt, meet new people, relax and enjoy the trip.

Arriving at her humble abode, her teal eyes jumped from here and there and everywhere. That was one of the most troublesome parts of a trip. Packing.

"Wait, what?" she vocally questioned. "Did I just..." Trailing off, a sudden gloom filled the air around her. Did she _really_ just use _his_ word in her inner non-thought monologue? Okay, that's it. This vacation had once again turned into a chore, soured by that damn cloud gazing bore.

"Whatever, they'll provide most of what I need..." Stepping forth towards her closet to collect a few spare outfits, she shook her head.

_'I have until the end of the week to leave, why bother now?'_ But, once again professionalism was one of Temari's specialties and as such, she couldn't just sit back and let something go undone. Especially since procrastination was another one of _his_ apparent traits.

_'Heh, I wonder if he's a Jounin yet, or is he still just a Chuunin?'_ Temari wondered, her mind unable to focus as she began collecting what she may or may not need. But, it was a good question. If he were still a Chuunin, oh would she lay it to him good.

_'I wonder if I can make him cry. Shouldn't be too hard!'_ her thoughts swam with a snicker.

But if he were a Jounin like her, they would be equals. The last time that the two of them, rank-wise, stood on the same ground was the Chuunin Exams. He'd made absolutely no impression on her then up until their fight began. No, a majority of her concentration and worry surrounded the plan that, in retrospect, Temari was happy ended in failure.

Still, the memories of their battle lingered in her mind. She thought he was a nothing. He didn't appear to be an impressive physical specimen. He didn't show any confidence. Hell, if anything, he looked ready to give up at the get-go, and knowing him, he would have if not for that Naruto kid.

That fight began with a surprise when he dodged her first wave. No, it wasn't all that impressive. In fact, it was normal, any idiot who could would. But he struck her at the time as a lucky little brat who got as far as he did by complete chance.

Still, that shadow-based repertoire of techniques fit what she knew of Nara Shikamaru to a tee. He wasn't strong enough to attack, and looked like a single hit would be enough to put his annoying face in the dirt. But there came the second surprise.

While Temari thought that he spent his time hiding in the shade of the arena's wall like a rat, stalling for time, hoping for a miracle, it came to be proven that he was already miles ahead of her in strategy. A long range fighter like her was nothing but trouble for a close range saboteur like him.

But did she ever even really get a chance to attack? No! Not at all. Even though she won the match in the end, the entire fight was a mere showcase that he used to display his strengths and how clever he was. It was damn devious of him. Despite what she knew about him and how he looked, Temari guessed that he just _really_ wanted to be a Chuunin.

Throwing some snacks and a much smaller, spare fan into her bags, a scowl twisted on her features. _'Damn Shikamaru, I had a plan too!'_ While true that she was indeed formulating a stratagem over the course of the fight, in between his stalling, his attacks, and her calculations and analysis, she never really got to display a single step of it.

Not that she had plans of being promoted to Chuunin in the first place (the plan was far more important), but the knowledge that in actuality she had lost to him, and then that he had become a Chuunin nagged at her.

If given the opportunity to fight her next fight, surely she would have displayed her own brand of analytical combat and dominated the field. They could have even been promoted together.

_'Well that's a sickening thought.'_ she mused with a slight smile.

Gazing over what she had collected, her eyes turned towards the window. By the position of the sun, it was just barely past lunch. With no more missions, not even a low-level D or C, and her packing already complete, Temari now had the rest of the week in relaxation.

"If it were him, he'd relax up until the last minute and then scramble for everything he needed." she spoke in what was a sing-song mocking tune.

_'Ugh, I really need to cut this out. Get out of my head you nitwit.'_ sighed Temari.

"Well, uh, I guess there's really no point in sticking around here when I could start my vacation early." she reasoned, slinging her large fan over her shoulder and gathering her supplies.

Rebounding from building to building at a notable speed that Jounin were known for, Temari set her gaze on the gates. What reason is there for burning daylight? Sure, the Hidden Leaf wouldn't be going anywhere, but- Her thoughts cut off from there as she questioned herself.

_'Why does this all sound like a series of excuses?'_

Shaking it off, her journey set forth towards the Hidden Leaf.

Of course, last time she headed out that way was a couple of years back when Gaara, Kankurou, and her had received emergency notification from the Hidden Leaf with a request for assistance. Mere months after they had attacked the village, the three siblings were on their way towards the endless forests to defend the very people they tried to kill.

Yet, she didn't feel nearly as rushed Gaara and Kankurou did, especially after hearing that _he_ was the one leading the mission. Once again, he wasn't an impressive physical specimen, nor did he have any astounding first class techniques. But after she had faced him personally, Temari felt as if everything would be under control.

Was she ever wrong.

Awhile later she would learn that Kankurou had barely made it in time to save the dog guy and his... well, dog. It was a good thing he had decided upon mastering that new doll of his. Gaara, on the other hand, ironically came to the defense of the very person he had crippled- that bizarre green guy.

As luck would have it-

_'Wait, luck?'_ she questioned briefly before shaking her head and putting it out of her thoughts.

As fate would have it-

_'F-fate?!'_ she questioned as well. _'T-try again, Temari.'_ the Jounin demanded of herself.

As chance would have it, she stumbled upon _him_ again seconds away from death at the hands of another woman. If any woman was going to make Shikamaru's life Hell and end him, it was going to be _her_.

Fortunately, a swing of the fan separated the two, saving his life. That means he owed her one. Another swing saw the forest around them collapse down upon the enemy. That means he owed her two. It was finally Temari's chance to gloat, and without missing a beat she did. He had no other choice but to acknowledge her, and when he did, her smile didn't fade for the rest of the day.

Not until she saw him at his most vulnerable.

As he waited on status from the medics about the ones he had carried into battle, Temari's teal eyes studied him. She knew he was a wuss, but he had broken far too easily. Was this really the same man who had impressed her so much that she wanted a rematch? Was this the same Shikamaru whose acknowledgement she had craved?

As her mouth opened to say something, another man who looked so similar to him that he could only be his father spoke instead. Despite that she herself were about to chide him, the scolding he received seemed so harsh. Was she empathizing with him?

But there was something about him, something that set him apart from everybody else. Seeing those tears stream down his face once the good news came in, Temari felt relieved.

_'I was even happy, huh...'_ she asked herself with a grin as she leapt from tree to tree, the Hidden Leaf no longer so far. Had she been reminiscing the entire time?

And so the gates of the village met her.

Minutes later, standing before the esteemed Tsunade and those who assisted her in assignment of missions, she couldn't help but notice the perplexed expression that the Hokage held.

"We only really sent the request out two days ago... You made it here in just two days? The trip usually takes three." Tsunade complimented, nodding her head impressed. "But, I'm afraid we weren't expecting you until next week. I can get you a room at the embassy set up immediately, but until we decide on our own representative, you'll be on your own."

They hadn't decided yet? That was a shock, but... An idea formed inside her mind. After all of the time over the past two days she had been so lost in thought, perhaps Temari had reached an epiphany. _'I see, so that's how it is...'_

A playful grin forming on her lips, heart pounding, Temari's teal eyes met with the bronze pair of Tsunade's. Opportunity had presented itself, and Temari was adept at professionalism. She would greet it right away.

"If I may, Hokage-sama, I have a suggestion."

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Once again, here we are. I hope you enjoyed the read. If you did and haven't checked it out yet, I would like to suggest my other story Willing Captive (I'm no good at titles. Hell, I wanted to call this one Willful Captor so they'd match _) that tells the story from Shikamaru's point of view.


End file.
